G.I. Joe: Resolute (cartoon)
When Cobra Commander makes his boldest move yet, the Joe team only has 24 hours to save the world. Detailed summary Webisode 1 In Washington DC, police have cordoned off the Lincoln Memorial. A body lies on the floor inside, with a Cobra dagger stuck in its heart. A CSI tech scans his fingerprints, and gets confirmation: Major Bludd is dead. Passing a trashcan, the tech sheds her cap and jacket, revealing herself as Scarlett. The U.S.S. Flagg floats in the middle of the Pacific ocean, with its crew going about their duties, when a series of bombs in the sub-level armory rip the ship apart and leave it smoking. Simultaneously around the world, the pieces begin to move into place: :At the H.A.A.R.P. (High Frequency Active Aurora Research Program) facility, the antennae begin to glow, causing the sky to turn red. :On Cobra Island, overgrown missile silos open, sending their payloads skyward. The satellites spread open and form a constellation around the globe. :In Siberia, the Omsk-23 missile station shoots a pulse of energy into the sky. Back on the Flagg, the Joes discuss the damage to the ship. Bazooka was on guard duty, but someone managed to get by him. The reason why is soon discovered: Bazooka is dead, killed without leaving a mark. In Manhattan, Firefly assembles a rocket launcher and fires at the United Nations building. The missile smashes into the general assembly hall and embeds itself in the front wall, projecting a holographic communication from Cobra Commander. He gives a speech about money and power, and threatens the delegates. To prove his intentions, he destroys Moscow, killing all 10,382,754 residents. Webisode 2 Onboard the Flagg, Doc prepares to autopsy Major Bludd's body and withdraws a rolled note from the corpse's mouth. Scarlett recognizes the Arashikage clan symbol, and Snake-Eyes uses a black light to reveal Storm Shadow's hidden message, inviting the ninja home. Duke gives him permission to go, but tells him to be ready when he's needed. Forced to choose between going with Snake-Eyes or staying with Duke, Scarlett clarifies if it is the team unit she must chose over assisting Snake Eyes or Duke himself over Snake Eyes, and with zero hesitation she opts to remain on the Flagg with Duke. The hypersonic transport carries Snake-Eyes to his destination, and the man leaps out. He uses a personal flight suit to glide to the island, and night-vision goggles to find the best landing zone. Selecting a convenient dock, he sheds his suit and, without breaking stride, charges the lone Cobra Trooper on guard there and kills him. When a second Trooper comes by on his patrol, Snake-Eyes hides in the shadows, then jumps him, breaks his neck and ruthlessly stabs him. Near the entrance to the temple, three more Cobras are startled by a sound: they focus their lights on the source, and see one of their fellow troopers, hanged from a tree and swaying in the breeze. As they cut down his body, they notice his grenade belt is missing; Snake-Eyes has used the grenades and a monofilament line attached to the dead man's back to set a trap for his enemies. The resulting blast is visible from a great distance. One of the Cobra Troopers survives the explosion, and gets to his feet to see Snake-Eyes silhouetted against the flames. He raises his gun, but Snake-Eyes dashes past with his sword drawn, cutting the man down. As Snake starts up the temple steps, Storm Shadow watches from a nearby mountain. Webisode 3 On the Flagg, Duke addresses the assembled Joe team, informing them of Cobra's strike on Moscow. After hitting them with the hard news he counters it to give inspiration by reminding them that G.I. Joe is more than one good soldier and that Cobra underestimates them, and then sends them to the situation room, telling everyone to get to work with the support staff. Cover Girl works with the computer techs, Wild Bill calls Brussels to get the vehicles warmed up, Flint tries to figure out why radios still work if satellite communications are down, and Gung-Ho tells his group to figure out how Cobra incinerated Moscow without using a nuke. One of the techs says she can think of five ways to do it, and Gung-Ho declares her his new favorite Joe. Shortly, the Joes assemble again to share what they've learned. The ionosphere has been superheated, blocking sat signals, but reflecting long-range radio waves. The techs also put together enough data to confirm Cobra used a particle cannon, firing it skyward and collecting the energy over a target anywhere in the world and destroying it. They also figured out where the cannon is located: the Siberian missile silo. Flint points out that in order to accomplish all this, Cobra must have been working for months: a full-scale assault would be detected a mile away and chewed up by their built-in defenses. Duke recognizes it will have to be a one-man job and as leader he automatically implies that it will be him; but Scarlett reaches out to Duke insisting her partnership for a two-person infiltration unit, giving Duke a sly but tender smile with the gesture of her hand touching his shoulder. Webisode 4 Deep in Cobra headquarters, Cobra Commander pontificates to his assembled troops, explaining why he's always lost in the past, and how things are going to be different this time. He reminds them that it was he who killed "the traitor" Major Bludd, and warns them that his days of playing the weak fool are over. Anyone who works against him he will gut like a fish. In the Pacific, Dial-Tone - the female tech who figured out how Moscow was destroyed - is going over data from the New Mexico radar station when she finds a string of anomalies mid-stratosphere. Meanwhile, in the wreckage of the armory, Gung-Ho, Flint and Roadblock discuss what to do next. Duke and Scarlett are prepping for their mission, but that still leaves questions unanswered. How is Cobra staying in formation if they don't have satellite access? Dial-Tone dashes in and says she knows how: Cobra has set up a ring of Stratellites, a technology barely in prototype, floating 20 miles above the ground. Flint assigns Tunnel Rat to take out the communications, but Dial-Tone warns him that when they tried to put a UAV up there to examine the devices, something shot it down. Tunnel Rat points out that even if the Joes do take out the Stratellites, that doesn't fix the ionosphere, but Gung-Ho has the answer to that - a research station 100 miles away from the H.A.A.R.P. can see the antennas glowing. Flint orders the Joes to set up two strike-teams. Cobra Troopers are standing guard at the H.A.A.R.P. facility. Inside, the scientists kneel on the ground with their hands behind their heads. The Baroness demands silence under the threat of death, pleased that she finally gets to spend some quality time with Destro. Webisode 5 On the Arashikage island, Snake-Eyes climbs the stairs to the training grounds. All is silent. The buildings are dilapidated and grass grows through the stone walkways. Pushing aside a tattered curtain, Snake-Eyes remembers what the compound used to look like. :Students practice their sword forms as the Hard Master counts off. A pair of students hone their striking power by punching a large tree stump. :Tommy breaks off from the group, and asks to speak to his uncle, the Hard Master. The Hard Master says the younger man should address him as "sensei" in front of the other students, but Storm Shadow counters that he is not speaking to him as his student. He knows that the Hard Master has been tutoring Snake-Eyes privately, and is unhappy about it. Hard Master reassures Storm Shadow that while he had been training to be a ninja since childhood, Snake-Eyes started later in life, and needed extra help to keep up with the others. :Storm Shadow is upset, however, that his uncle has not yet finished teaching him the Seven Steps to the Sun, the martial arts form he had created, and on which the reputation of the Arashikage school was founded. Despite being the greatest student in the school and the Hard Master's nephew, Storm Shadow had not yet been taught the final step, and wanted to know why. The Hard Master simply replies that Storm Shadow is not ready. He should still be grappling with the implications of the Sixth Step, itself a terrible move. :Hard Master claps his hands, and the two students who had been striking the log lift it from its platform and hurl it toward him with all their might. With a single strike, he shatters the thick wooden stump - the Sixth Step. He says that Storm Shadow can already do this, but that the Seventh Step is death. Passing that knowledge on to anyone must be a careful decision. When Storm Shadow asks who will carry on the tradition when his uncle dies, the Hard Master repeats what he said before, adding that Snake-Eyes is more ready than Tommy. Violence is a burden to him, while to Storm Shadow, it is less than air. :Storm Shadow offers his uncle one final chance to teach him the Seventh Step. When the man refuses, Storm Shadow removes the scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face and throws it in the air. On a distant hill, an unknown figure steps from the shadows and raises a sniper rifle. Realizing what is happening, Snake-Eyes rushes forward to save his master, getting a bullet through the jaw for his trouble. When the Hard Master turns around to see what is the matter, a second bullet zips cleanly through his head, and he falls to the ground. :Storm Shadow tells Snake-Eyes it had to be done - they were meant to be ninjas, not schoolboys. Unable to speak, Snake-Eyes draws his sword and challenges his best friend. Tommy reminds him that if you strike a fellow Arashikage, it means vendetta. Snake-Eyes' vision is blurry, but he does not back down. He swings at Storm Shadow, but misses. Storm Shadow knocks him to the ground, causing him to lose his sword. As Storm Shadow prepares to strike again, Snake-Eyes bashes him with his elbow, knocking him to the ground. When Storm Shadow gets up, Snake-Eyes is gone. His memory over, Snake-Eyes hears Storm Shadow join him on the training arena. Storm Shadow repeats what his note said: all games end today. Webisode 6 A hypersonic transport speeds toward Omsk, carrying Duke and Scarlett to the missile station. Wild Bill is piloting, and in the back, Ripcord and Airborne help Duke and Scarlett into their jump gear. Ripcord insists on reminding his friends that the packs they're wearing haven't been cleared for HALO ops, but Duke knows that they don't have choice. They go over the plan: the transport circles for 30 minutes, listening for a beacon on Channel 23, and if there isn't on, they are to assume the two Joes are dead and return to the Flagg. Duke and Scarlett leap from the plane, watching their altimeters. When they reach the right height, the ignite the packs: rocket-powered boosters that will allow them to fly to the target. They land safely in the snow on a cliff overlooking the decommissioned station and begin making their way inside. Showing a frightening degree of skill and professionalism the two work together like greased lightning to dispatch several Ice Vipers using both guns and knives. Scarlett hacks the security system and opens them a door. Proceeding cautiously down a misty hallway, Duke steps on a panel that activates nano-bots that clamp onto his clothes and activate the alarms. The elevator at the far end of the hall opens, releasing three Alley Vipers. Duke and Scarlett are pinned down on opposite sides of the hall, with very little cover. Scarlett shoots the valve off a steam pipe, obscuring their position, and Duke lobs a grenade at the Cobras. As more troopers race to the area, the Joes drop through the destroyed floor into the ventilation shafts, leaving a few grenades behind for the reinforcements. Kicking out a vent in the missile station's control room, the two Joes sneak out into the base. It turns out the missiles were never decommissioned, and Cobra has managed to use the nuclear warhead to jury-rig a working reactor. Behind them, the air crackles, and the vision of Zartan materializes as the source. Grinning viciously, he fires a rocket at the Joes, destroying the catwalk they were standing on. Webisode 7 In the Joes' situation room, Tunnel Rat reveals his cunning plan. Since the Stratellites will shoot down anything with an engine, he'll use 1950s' technology, floating 20 miles up in a hot air balloon. Wearing pressure suits, Tunnel Rat and his team reach the stratosphere, then use grappling guns to hitch themselves to one of the satellites and slide over. Reaching the structure, they carefully begin looking for the communications gear, unsure of what traps or failsafes the satellites might have. Using a small oxyacetylene torch, they cut the front panel off the comms terminal. But as they work, one of the clamps breaks free above them, and begins swinging wildly, slicing the skin of the balloon and knocking free some of the equipment. Tunnel Rat leaps out of the way, but the lump of machinery knocks the two generic soldiers off the side, hurtling toward Earth. In Alaska, Gung-Ho, Roadblock, Beachhead and Stalker reconnoiter the HAARP facility. Cobra Troopers stand guard out front, and thermal imaging shows more inside, along with "lotsa hostages." Since the element of surprise is useless, Roadblock suggests a program of shock and awe. While Gung-Ho uses his grenade launcher to take down the antennae, Roadblock maneuvers behind the Cobra Troopers and cuts them down with his .50 cal. machine gun. Inside, Destro and the Baroness feel the ground tremble due to the Joes' assault. Baroness threatens the scientists, coldly telling them how they're going to die. At the exterior fence, Stalker uses a metal-dissolving spray to breach the perimeter. He pries the cover off a ventilation shaft while Beachhead stands guard. As Roadblock and Gung-Ho charge into the building, Baroness is caught off guard and asks what they're doing. Destro's replies "killing themselves" as he uses a handheld detonator to blow up the entryway. Webisode 8 Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow face each other beneath the full moon. The ninja draws his swords, telling Snake-Eyes how the anger over the Hard Master's death and the supposed vendetta were just lies: he hated Snake-Eyes because their sensei was going to teach him the Seven Steps to the Sun rather than Storm Shadow. With the preliminaries over, the two charge each other, their swords clanging. Storm Shadow draws first blood, with a slash across Snake-Eyes' chest. The commando flips his enemy over his shoulder, hurling him across the training ground and causing him to drop one of his swords. Storm Shadow is undeterred, however, and the two combatants lock up again. Dodging a leaping strike, Snake-Eyes deftly cuts the insides of Storm Shadow's forearms, splitting the cloth wrapped around them and revealing his tattoos: the Arashikage hexagram on his right arm, a Cobra sigil on his left. Storm Shadow screams in rage, and the fight is rejoined. A series of blows and a knee to the ribs cause Snake-Eyes to lose his blade, and Storm Shadow wastes no time in knocking him to the ground. Pulling back his sword arm, Storm Shadow attacks, aiming for Snake-Eyes' heart. The Joe manages to divert the strike, however, by allowing the sword to stab through his palm and into the ground next to him. He snaps the blade using his free hand and kicks Storm Shadow in the face. As the two get to their feet, Snake calmly pulls the remnants of the sword out of his hand. Down to fighting empty-handed, the pair continue brawling with one another. Snake-Eyes attempts to strike with the Fifth Step to the Sun, but Storm Shadow anticipates it and sidesteps the blow. Twisting Snake-Eyes' arm painfully, Storm Shadow mocks him. He says that the Hard Master may have never taught him the Seventh Step, but he also never taught SE the Fifth. Storm Shadows pounds Snake-Eyes the same way the Hard Master pounded the tree stump, sending him crashing into some stone steps. As the dust clears, though, Snake-Eyes is missing. Storm Shadow spins around in time to get struck in the chest so hard that his backpack explodes and his shirt is torn away. Five more hits follow swiftly, and Storm Shadow realizes the truth: the Hard Master had taught Snake-Eyes the Seventh Step. :Sometime before his death, the Hard Master took Snake-Eyes aside and told him why he was teaching him the full Seven Steps to the Sun. He knew he would not live forever, and more important than simply making sure the martial art lived on was making sure it lived on well. He knew that Snake-Eyes would only use the knowledge when nothing else could save him, and would only pass it on to a worthy student. A shockwave ripples out as Snake-Eyes delivers the final blow, and Storm Shadow falls over dead. Snake-Eyes buries his former friend on a mountain overlooking the training ground, with his swords standing among the rocks. As Snake-Eyes ponders Storm Shadow's grave, the hypersonic transport hovers overhead - free time is over, and Snake-Eyes is needed back with the team. Webisode 9 Write up Featured Characters Featured Vehicles & Equipment Featured Locations Notable quotes "A ninja? I didn't know we had a ninja!" :--Well now you know, Roadblock... "You can go with him, or stay with me; your call. Make it now." "You mean stay with 'the unit.'" "You heard what I said." :--'Duke', perhaps this isn't the best time to give Scarlett an ultimatum. "It suited me once to appear weak and cowardly, because it motivated you people to think, but today...is a new day. There will be no moves to take over my command. There will be no mistakes. There will be none of your crap! None of it!" :--'Cobra Commander', seriously laying down the law. "You've been tutoring my friend privately." "You have been training since you could walk. Your friend came to us as an older child, an orphan. He needs a little help to keep up with you. He is your best friend; do you deny him aid?" :--'Storm Shadow' and the Hard Master discuss Snake-Eyes' training. "You do not understand that to be able to deal utter destruction with only seven blows is a responsibility like no other!" "Uncle, you will not live forever! Who will pass on the soul of your school to new generations if you do not teach me the Seventh Step?" "This is not the soul of my school. Do you really comprehend so little? Do you really believe I have nothing to teach, but death? Your friend is more ready than you. Violence is a burden to him - to you, it is less than air." "I ask you one last time: will you teach me the Seventh Step?" "No, I believe I will not." :--'Hard Master' shuts down Storm Shadow's childish demands. "So here's my cunning plan." :--'Tunnel Rat' has thought of everything! "Okay, this wasn't in my cunning plan." :--'Tunnel Rat' finds himself hanging by one hand 20 miles above the ground. "Some idiots are going to break in. If we don't like what they say, we're going to start killing you. So start crying now: make it good; a little honest victims' fear always rattles these people." :--At least The Baroness is upfront with her evil. "So many years. So many fights. So much hate." :--'Storm Shadow' grows weary of it all. "Aw, that's just bloody cheating!" :--'Destro' after realizing the gun battle he was in was just to to keep him occupied in order to allow his hostages to escape. Other notes Animation and/or technical glitches * On the wall of the G.I. Joe hangar, the word is mispelled "Hanger." Continuity errors * If Cobra Commander killed Major Bludd in Springfield, why is there so much blood in Washington DC? * Project Manhigh (see below) took place in 1957, not 1955. The project was begun in December of '55, but it was a year and a half before any real attempt was made. Real-world references * The H.A.A.R.P. program really exists in Alaska, and it looks almost exactly the way it is depicted in this cartoon.HAARP Home Page * Stratellites are real, too. Somewhat. * The parts with Duke and Scarlett sneaking around the Omsk missile station are similar in tone and execution to the videogame Metal Gear Solid. * Project Manhigh really did send men high into the sky on specially designed balloons in 1957 and 1958.MANHIGH I -1957- The Air Force project was designed to test the effect of cosmic rays on humans. Miscellaneous trivia * This version of Roadblock doesn't speak in rhyme. * Destro has a pronounced Scottish accent. * Steven Blum (Cowboy Bebop, Wolverine and the X-Men) seems to do about 90% of the male voices. * Webisode 4 was the first not to open with a shot of the U.S.S. Flagg. * When Duke and Scarlett break into the Siberian Missile Station, their gunfire produces orange muzzle flare, while the Cobra Troopers' is blue. This subtly parallels the color-coded lasers of the Sunbow series. * Hasbro's promo copy for the series specifically says "no parachutes, no lasers," yet both are used in the story: a giant laser cannon is used on Moscow, and Tunnel Rat uses a parachute to escape the Stratellite. ** And although the tag for the series is "all games end today," the ending contradicts this as Cobra Commander still lives, thus taking the game into overtime. Mission Codes Each webisode was followed by a code that would unlock content on Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Resolute website.http://www.gijoeresolute.com The codes, in order, are: *HAUSER *NINJA *OHARA *HINTON *OLDSNAKE *SIBERIA *OMSK *DISGUISE Project history The G.I. Joe: Resolute cartoon was announced as a series of 10 five-minute webisodes to be capped off by a 10-minute finale. The webisodes were originally going to be streamed from Hasbro's G.I. Joe website. Together, the webisodes comprise a one-hour movie that could be shown on television later or released to DVD. However, before any episodes premiered online, it was revealed that the full one-hour movie would be shown on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block on Saturday, April 25.http://www.adultswim.com/schedule/onair.html In Canada, the full movie aired on Teletoon in the Teletoon Detour block on April 24. However, the individual webisodes began to appear online on April 17, leading up to the broadcast premiere.GI JOE News - Episodes Of Highly Anticipated GI JOE: RESOLUTE Series To Air Online Leading Up To Broadcast Finale On Adult Swim [[Video:SDCC_%27%27G.I._Joe_Resolute%27%27_Animation_preview|300px|right|An audience video of the Resolute footage shown at SDCC'08]] The cartoon has a more serious tone comparable to the ''G.I. Joe'' comics from Marvel Comics. The story was written by noted comic book author Warren Ellis (Planetary), produced by Sam Register (former vice president of Cartoon Network) and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League Unlimited, Avatar: The Last Airbender). Character designs are by comic book artist Dave Johnson. Their approach to the project is that of a PG-13 cartoon.New GI Joe Cartoon To Be Aimed At Adults A one-minute preview was shown at the Hasbro panel at the 2008 Comic-Con International at San Diego. The preview is not meant as part of the movie's story but illustrates Hasbro's direction for this project. Viewers may expect highly-detailed animation and a more realistic approach to the story: no lasers, real bullets and open fates for the characters (i.e., any one of the "majors" may die). Several classic characters and vehicles will be updated. The success of the webisodes may transfer to other similarly-themed Hasbro properties but nothing is clarified at this time. References External links GI Joe Resolute Episodes on Adult Swim Web site Extensive review at Republibot Category:Franchises Category:Continuities Category:Resolute Category:Generation 3